The Displaced Legend
by Leashka
Summary: 35 years after the Hero defeated Ganon, a pumpkin grower in Ordon attends Harkinian Knight Academy with her friends and enemies alike. But what happens when a Dark Alliance seeks to ressurect the Evil King? Can mere children save Hyrule?
1. Chapter 1

**Alright guys. This is my first decent fanfiction. I haven't had inspiration to write for over 2 years, and then it finally comes to me. This story is about my friends and I in Twilight Princess, except I made OC's out of everyone and have written us in as if we lived in Hyrule.**

**Now that I have successfully wasted your time, please enjoy the first chapter!**

**Chapter 1**

_TWANG!_

The arrow shot through the air and landed smack bang in the middle of the small wooden circle. Smirking, I reached behind me into my quiver and pulled out another long, thin projectile. Aiming for a higher target now, I released my right hand adorned with a tan bracelet, and the arrow sunk into the middle of the target.

Lowering my bow for a minute, I looked to my right, where a tree house was standing, many metres above my own height. This tree house belonged to the current king in his younger days, when he lived in the same village as I, and worked on the ranch. That was a good thirty years ago, though, and I wasn't even alive at the time. I looked back at the orange targets I had been aiming for not a minute ago. Those were also used by the king, set up by his childhood friends so he could practise aiming a slingshot. Now though, they had faded with age, and had many cuts in them from my arrows. I was one of only a few who dared use them, because I'm sure the king would forgive me. I mean, he used them for exactly the same thing many years ago, and it won't do the kingdom any harm if a thirteen year old Hylian can protect herself.

"HALE!" A yell broke my thoughts. Jogging up the pathway was my best friend Gaipeia Spinnet. She wore a white tank top and tan pants with sturdy tan sandals. Her long red hair was tied in a low ponytail, kept back with a small scarf used as a headband, with her fringe loose and covering half her face. She grinned. "Target practise again, eh?"

"You know me too well." I replied. She took out her bronze dagger, and threw it at a target, hitting it in the middle. She walked over and grabbed the projectile out of the wood, and turned to me.

"We've been doing this far too long." she said, with a remotely nostalgic look on her face, not one I often saw on my prankster best friend. With a small sigh, I grabbed the arrows I could reach out of the tree, making a mental note to stop by Sera's Sundries. Though it was now Gaipeia's mother who ran the store, the name had stuck.

I replied to Gaipeia's previous comment, "All in preparation for this year, right?" She nodded. "I can't believe it. We're finally going to go to Harkinian Knight Academy!" Her usual excitable attitude had returned. I grinned.

"Come on, we're going to have to go back to the village now. Besides, you've gotta herd in the goats soon," I reminded her, looking skyward. "It's almost twilight."

Walking into my family's humble abode, the sweet smell of pumpkin soup filled my nose. "Mmm…" I murmured in appreciation, and my mother Denai turned around to face me, a motherly smile on her face. "Welcome back, Hale." She greeted.

I walked over to the stove she was cooking at. "Can I try some?" I asked, peering into the pot. She pulled out a spoon, and handed it to me. "Go ahead, but it will be hot."

I took a mouthful of soup, and promptly spat it into the sink. "HOT!" I gasped, sucking in air in attempt to cool off my mouth. My mother sighed. "Pity, some perfectly good soup wasted. The children in Old Kakariko would have appreciated that mouthful of pumpkin soup," She lectured while I had my head under the tap, gulping mouthfuls of water, "too bad I have an idiotic daughter who didn't think to cool it down first."

I frowned. "You know what, Mum? I think I'm going to go and help Gai with the herding. I'm only going to get insulted if I hang around here for much longer." I turned to walk out the door, with my mother laughing behind me.

**So? How is it? It's awfully short, I know, but all the chapters after this that I've written so far are over 1000 words, I promise. **

**To make things clear, the genres this story should be are Friendship, Adventure and Romance. It may even get angsty at some stage, I don't know because I tend to not plan ahead when I write. If you can still stomach it, please keep reading! The rating may also change, depending on what happens when I continue to write.**

**Please R&R, I need the motivation to keep writing! Also, I love constructive criticism, so please attack me with your flames!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I hate to say it, but this chapter is what's known as 'tutorial island.' All it is is massive amounts of explanation which I dislike, but it has to be done anyway. Sigh. Anyway, please try to enjoy the chapter!**

**Chapter 2**

The next morning, I had to get up at 5 AM, because my mother wanted me to go run some supplies to Kakariko, and I had to pick up some potions from Malo Mart. I was the delivery girl of Ordon, because the ranch hands were far too busy nowadays with the goats. It wasn't difficult to find food now that the war was over, so the number of goats we had multiplied. There were also a couple of foals, since the village's horses have peace and quiet, and don't have to make emergency trips to Hyrule Castle.

I pulled on my cream leggings, chucked on my faded green tunic, tied up my hair in a high ponytail and put on my belt. I grabbed a small loaf of bread from the cupboard and held it between my teeth as I pulled on my brown boots. Trying to not make too much noise so as to not wake the rest of my family, I walked out the door, shutting it slowly behind me.

Our house was one of the closest to the ranch, in fact, we lived where Sir Collin used to live. He moved out to become a knight of Hyrule, and he taught swordplay at Harkinian Knight Academy. The academy had been founded by His Highness, about five years after Ganondorf had been defeated. All children were required to go to the academy after they turned 13, and would remain there until they were of age, that is, 18 years old. There were two semesters, and each one went for 5 months. In between the two semesters there was a month's break. In the summer, the break would reach over the entire New Year's holidays, and the winter break was there because it was just far too cold to do any swordplay while it was snowing. At the academy, all children learnt to read and write, and each student took a class to train with weapons, whichever you were more comfortable with. It was also compulsory to take a swordplay class, and you had the choice of learning to use a katana, or a proper sword like a knight.

Running south, I went through the archway into the ranch. After hoisting myself over the small barricade that was only there as a backup to keep the goats in, I went into the smaller barn, where the horses were kept.

Upon opening the door, I went over to the furthest stall on the left, where my chestnut steed was resting. "Hey girl," I murmured, while rubbing her along the top of her head, where her white tear-shaped marking was. Unlocking the door, I led her out of the stall, stopping as I got near the door to tack her up. Reaching into the cupboard that was there, I pulled out a carrot for her to much on while I was messing around with numerous pieces of leather. Today I put two extra packs on either side of her body, which contained the bread and milk that Kakariko so desperately needed. They weren't so much a produce town as they were business, since Malo Mart only offered weapon supplies and potions.

Finishing up, I led her by the reins to outside, where I saw Gaipeia not even three metres away. "What are you doing up this early, and where are you taking poor Wisdom?" she said, surprised to see me. Wisdom was the name of my horse, and judging by the expression on the mare's face, she didn't want to be awake right now.

"I've gotta go on a trip to Kakariko. Mum wants the milk and bread delivered today, so I got up at 5 in the morning to get it to them while it's still somewhat cool out." I replied.

She looked at me with a pitiful expression on her face "Good luck with that. I hear the Kargoroks love the morning sun. It's only just starting to rise," she said, looking to the east where the sun was peeking over the mountains, "so you're going to have a lot of fun out there. Better pick up some arrows from Mum while you're at it."

I grinned. "Yep those Kargoroks aren't going to know what hit them! By the way, how's Applesauce dealing with all the goats?" I asked. Applesauce was Gaipeia's horse, a beautiful dapple grey mare with a mischievous attitude, much like her owner. "Oh, she's having a great time," Gaipeia laughed, "She's just as mischievous as the goats are!"

I laughed. "Well, I'd better make a move before it gets too warm. I'll see you when I get back!" I waved as I hopped up on Wisdom, and rode off, leaping over the barricade blocking the ranch from the rest of the village.

After buying some extra arrows, we trotted through the village and past His Highness' old tree house, going through the small stretch in the woods before reaching a bunch of boulders to my right. Dismounting Wisdom, I walked over to the boulders before placing the back of my right hand on the boulders. The ring I wore glowed, passing the ominous light onto the massive blockage, where it folded the rocks back out of my way. I grabbed Wisdom's rein, and gently led her into the little area. It was the Ordon Spring that His Highness had supposedly begun his adventure in. The villagers used to come here regularly for healing properties, but since a significantly large earth tremor in Kakariko Gorge had occurred, the path had been blocked by boulders. The villagers now went to Faron Spring, which was a bit of a walk away, but was close enough to be of use. There was still a small tunnel to the right of the entrance Ordon Spring, but no adult could fit through there anymore, and it had been forgotten by most of the village.

The ring had been made by one of my other friends Merllis Stone, who loved to read, and aspired to become a mage of Hyrule. She was the mayor's daughter, and was the most knowledgeable one in the village, as she had read and re-read all of the village's historical texts numerous times. She knew some basic magic, which most of us villagers didn't, and she made three rings. These worked with the boulders blocking the spring from the village, clearing them out of the way and piling them to either side of the entrance. She kept one ring for herself, and gave one each to Gaipeia and me. We never told anybody about the magical property of these, so Ordon Spring was our own special place. A place where nobody went except us, and we could have time to be alone.

I led Wisdom into the spring, and she drank the healing water while I filled up my empty jar. I figured I could use some water, and if I managed to get injured out there, I could use it as first aid. Having finished what I needed to do at the spring, I led my horse back out, and re-closed the entrance. From there, I hopped back on Wisdom's back, and we took off across the rope bridge, and all the way to Hyrule Field.

**Okay.**

**I'm in need of Goron and Zora character names, so if you could pretty please send me some decent names for either race, I would very much appreciate it! **


	3. Chapter 3

**I realised something the other day. I had neglected to do a disclaimer. And since I'm lazy, Maurice, the Plot Bunny responsible for this pathetic little story can do it for me.**

**Maurice: *wiggles nose, hops around and eats a carrot.***

**TRANSLATION: Chelsea doesn't own Twilight Princess. She doesn't own any references to the original games and she doesn't even own the people that these characters are based off. But she does own the characters themselves. Therefore she can do whatever the hell she wants with them.**

**Enjoy. Excessive amount of fluff is to be expected within the next few chapters.**

**Chapter 3 **

Wisdom and I galloped through Hyrule Field for about half an hour, heading west towards Kakariko. I heard a Kargorok's screech from my left, and I turned my head to see the offending bird circle above my head. I leant into my horse's ear, and whispered, "Keep going to Kakariko, Wisdom." I then pulled my bow and an arrow from where they were slung on my back, and taking aim, shot the Kargorok down. "Bullseye!" I murmured, returning the bow to its rightful position. I then took hold of the reins once more, and continued to ride. About ten minutes later, we reached Kakariko Gorge. led Wisdom across the small rickety bridge that stretched over the gorge. Continuing past the small archway, I rode into Kakariko Village.

Upon my entry, I let a smile spread across my features. I had only been here a few times, but the dry, mountain-foot village gave me a somewhat homely feel. It had repopulated since the war, as many Hylians had moved to the humble village from the busy town life. To my left was the spring, with the fairies flying around in a glowing cloud above the lake. A few other horses were drinking at the spring, and there was a large bale of hay to the right of where they stood. Taking the supplies off her back, I left Wisdom to go drink with the other horses, while I took the supplies into the village.

_Now, who did I have to take them to?_ I wondered, as I walked through the village. To my left were some once abandoned houses that had recently been rebuilt after the war, and to my right was Malo Mart and the Elde Inn. _That's right, the Elde Inn!_ I remembered. Hoisting the two packages on my back, I staggered up the stairs, and into the inn.

Once I was inside, I lowered the bags, and breathed a sigh of relief. I stretched my back from its previously hunched over state, and walked to my right, where there was a middle aged lady in the kitchen. Hearing the loud noises I was making before, she turned around to look at me.

I smiled politely. "Sorry to interrupt you here." I apologised, and the lady smiled back. "Ah, these are the supplies from Ordon, am I correct?" she asked. I nodded in affirmation, and she clapped her hands together. "Perfect! I'll call Mesa down to grab them. MESA!" she called, and I heard footsteps from upstairs.

Descending from the stairs appeared a tall boy. He had slightly curly dirty blonde hair, and wore a faded red shirt, with black pants and black boots. I stared at him for a bit, but then looked away, with a blush adorning my pale face. He walked over to the woman and asked, "What is it, Mrs Luda?"

His voice had a somewhat husky feel to it, as if it were in the middle of breaking. I could have listened to it all day, but the so-called Mrs Luda broke my daydream and said, "This young girl brought in those supplies, could you take them to the storage out back?"

He nodded an okay, and turned to me. Extending his hand, a half smile played at his lips. "I'm Mesa. What's your name, miss?" he asked me, staring straight into my eyes. Blushing, I shook his hand, and forced my voice to say, "I'm Hale, pleased to meet you." He smiled that half smile of his again, and fully stood up. He was easily a head taller than me, maybe a bit more. "Can you give me a hand with these, Hale?" he asked. I knew they were uncomfortably heavy, but I just couldn't refuse the smile. So, with a nod, we each grabbed a package and left through the door near the kitchen.

Behind the hotel was a large, dark area that had been blocked from the outside world with lots of wooden planks. It was cold, and there was no light in there. I found it hard for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Mesa smiled. "We've just got to take these to the other end of the room." He told me, and began to walk over to the other side of the room, not even struggling with his package. I sighed inaudibly, and staggered a couple of metres to the other side of the room. After depositing his package, he turned to me. "Want a hand with that?" he asked.

"Yes _please!_" I replied, dropping the package off my back with a thud. Luckily I had the bread package, so nothing broke when I dropped it. Mesa let out a small laugh, and lifted one end of the package. I grabbed the other, and we both lifted it easily over to the other package. Dropping it, Mesa brushed his hands together. "Done. Let's go back and tell Mrs Luda." He proposed, and I agreed with a nod.

"You're done? Great!" Mrs Luda smiled. She handed Mesa a red rupee from her wallet. "Here's your pay, Mesa. Thanks for all the hard work!" Thanking her, the boy took the money from her. "Do you have some time, Hale?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I replied, "I don't really have a curfew." He smiled. "Great. Come with me for a bit."

He led me upstairs, and once we walked past the rooms, he led me out a small doorway. We then walked up a bit of a slope, and upon reaching the peak, I saw a large hot spring that had about four Gorons sitting in it. My eyes widened, and Mesa grinned at my expression. "Come on, let's dip our feet in." he invited.

I gladly accepted, and we both sat at the edge of the spring. I took my boots off, rolled up my leggings, and dipped my toes into the spring. I instantly relaxed, dangling my calves into the water. Mesa joined me, and struck up a conversation. "So you're from Ordon, are you?"

"Yeah, that's where I was brought up."I replied.

"What do you do there?" he questioned. I laughed, embarrassed. "I'm the one that grows the pumpkins."

He let out a laugh. "So, if you're a pumpkin grower, why do you have a bow?"

"I always think it's a good idea to know how to defend myself, especially since I'm going to start at the academy this year."

He grinned. "You're kidding! I am too! We'll be in the same year, then!" I smiled back at him. "Here's to a good year, Mesa."

"Do you have to return home soon?" he asked. I shook my head, and he smiled. "Come, I'll introduce you to some people who'll be in the same year as us at the academy."

We put our boots back on, and set off through the Elde Inn back to the main road.

**YESSS! NEW CHARACTERS! LET US REJOICE AND EAT COOKIES!**

***ahem* Excuse me.**

**I'm still in need of Zora and Goron names. Heck, I'm in need of Hylian names now! So, if anyone would be so kind as to give me an evil character's name, I will gladly put them in.**

**Flames will be used for Gaipeia's pranks on everyone else.**

**If you love me, check out my blog in which I try to evade writing most days but still do it every day. I'm also on Deviantart and Zeldadungeon where my name is Zeldas-Child or Zelda's_Child respectively. I'm gonna make mahself a new DA account, so updates will be updated.**

**Now that I've prattled on long enough, I'm going to let you go back to your lives. BYEEEE!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm updating early! Le shock! Excuse me for ranting here, but I feel it is necessary.**

**I just deactivated my DeviantArt account so I could make a new one, and it won't let me use the same email. Now, I'm stuck with no DA account until they reply to me, which could be a week. I'm going to be worried sick until then, because I tend to forget things like this.**

**But enough of my troubles. Gai, do this disclaimer.**

**Gaipeia: No way in hell.**

**CA: I'll give you a cookie?**

**Gaipeia: Fine. Chelsea doesn't own Twilight Princess, or any Zelda references. She does, though, own us OCs. So she is free do what she wants with them. Now, where's my cookie?**

**CA: *does an 'I lied' face.***

**Gai: CHELSEA! I HATE YOU!**

**On with the chapter!**

**Chapter 4**

Walking through Kakariko, Mesa led me to Barnes Bomb Shop near the north end of the village. We walked up the metal steps, and opened the creaky door. Inside, the smell of smoke filled my nose. Mesa didn't seem affected by it though, and greeted the man standing at the bench with a quick hello. He then yelled up the stairs, "KAJ!"

A boy our age came down the stairs, his red-brown hair flying as he jogged down. He was a few inches taller than me, and he wore a moss green shirt with grimy black pants and boots. He smelled much like the smoke, so I assumed he had something to do with it. He crashed into Mesa, and they did that man-hug thing, and when they parted, Mesa looked at me.

"Hale, this is Kaj. He's a pyro who loves explosions. Kaj, this is Hale, an Ordon pumpkin harvester." I frowned at Mesa as Kaj burst out laughing. "He didn't have to know that, Mesa." I scolded.

Kaj gradually stopped laughing, and extended his hand. "I'm Kaj. Nice to meet you." He offered. "Likewise." I returned his greeting and shook his hand.

Kaj's eyes widened. "Woah, you have small hands! Mesa, how did you pick this one up?" he teased. Mesa returned his comment by karate chopping him on his head. "She came by Mrs Luda's, dumbass. I'm not some playboy picking up girls off Hyrule Field. Anyway, Hale is going to the academy this year as well." He informed.

Kaj rubbed his head, but grinned nonetheless. "Awesome! So you're taking her around Kakariko introducing her to us first years, eh? Nice one. Have you gone up to see Reylo yet?" he asked. Mesa shook his head. "You're the first one."

Kaj turned to go back up the stairs. "Well, you go take Miss Hale up to Death Mountain to see Rey. I'm trying to create a new type of bomb, so I've gotta get back to work. I'll see you when you come back down." He said. Mesa and I said goodbye, and with a wave of my hand, I walked with Mesa out of the bomb shop.

We exited the village and left for the Death Mountain path, taking a breather near the steep wall with ropes hanging down from it. Mesa helped me up, and we trekked up the steep mountain trail, greeting the few Gorons that we met along the path.

Upon reaching Goron Village, we went to the small shop that was in a cave dug out of the mountain. A boy stood at the counter, leaning on the bench that had been placed in front. He was about the same height as Mesa, but much larger, and he had the skin of a Gerudo. His short black hair was curly, only about an inch in length. "GORO! You came here, Mesa! And who is that with you, brother?" the boy bellowed.

"This is Hale. She's from Ordon Village, and will be in the same class as us at the academy. Hale, this is Reylo. He was brought up by the Gorons, which is why he has their accent and speech." Mesa introduced.

"Pleased to meet you, Reylo." I offered my hand, and he shook it strongly. I could feel my bones creak under his strong fingers. "You too!" he smiled.

Pulling my hand away, I closed and opened my fist a couple of times, just to make sure my hand still worked. I found nothing wrong with it, and so I turned back to Mesa, who had struck up a conversation with the boy. I left the two to have their own time to chat since the store didn't seem busy, and I went to explore the village.

It had improved from what Merllis had told me it was like before the war. There were numerous houses carved into the mountain, with only the doors and a window showing through the rock. A massive hot spring was located to the west of the village, with waterfalls reaching to higher levels, just proving how massive the spring is. I went over to dip my hand in the spring. "AAH!" I yelped, removing my hand as fast as I could. The water was so hot it had burnt my fingers! Shaking my fingers up and down, I blew on them to try and cool them. "Are you okay?" Mesa asked, looking concerned.

I moaned. "My fingers… I burnt them in the hot spring."

His eyes widened. "Come. Quick." He told me as he led me away, his arm reaching over my back to my other shoulder. _You know, if I get this every time I burn my fingers, _I thought as he dragged me over to where Reylo was, _I might just do it more often._

"This pumpkin harvester just put her fingers in the low hot spring," Mesa informed Reylo, "do you have any spring water?" Reylo's eyes widened, and he turned around to reach into one of the shelves carved into the rock. He pulled out a jar of spring water which, I assumed, was from the Eldin Spring. Grabbing my wrist, he dipped my fingers into the water. "That should do it, but don't go into that spring. Gorons only. Even I'm not allowed to bathe there. Too hot for humans, it burns their skin right off." He scolded. I meekly nodded, and murmured an apology.

"For the love of Nayru, Hale, haven't you ever been to Goron Village?" Mesa yelled. I shook my head while looking away. He looked furious for a second, then his eyes widened and he looked away. "Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled like that. But please, don't be reckless, okay?"

I nodded. "Sorry." He half smiled, and turned to Reylo. "I should probably take Hale back, can we keep this water?"

"Just make sure you get me some more when you next visit, brother." Reylo replied. Mesa turned to leave, his arm snaking around my shoulders again. "See you next time!" he yelled.

"See you next time, Mesa!" the boy replied.

"Thanks for the water!" I called, and Mesa and I turned to go back down the trail.

"Now that you've met everyone going to the academy this year, I must ask what you came to our humble abode to do." Mesa asked once we had returned to Kakariko. I thought for a bit, then replied, "Well, I had to drop off those supplies, and I also have to pick up a few potions from Malo Mart."

Mesa thought for a moment, and then asked, "Do you have to be home by tonight?" I said no, knowing that my mother would kill me once I return, and he said, "Wait until it gets dark. A Goron child comes into the street selling potions far cheaper than Malo ever will."

For the rest of the day, I hung around with Mesa in Kakariko. I did remember, though, to send a letter to Gaipeia, telling her where I was, and that I would be returning in the morning. I sent it on a hawk, after finding some hawk grass. Gai was the only person I knew who could do the hawk call perfectly, not even needing hawk grass to call one. She was 'one with the animals,' as the Ordonians would say. Mesa showed me his horse, a black stallion called Dusk, and I introduced him to Wisdom. He showed me all sorts of places around the village, and we went back to the hot spring.

We stayed up until eight o'clock that night, and once it had gotten fully dark outside, we left where we were sitting near the Eldin Spring to go to the child Goron's stall on the side of the road. I bought two red potions and a blue potion, and then Mesa took me back to his house.

"Do you want to stay the night at my house, or do you want to stay at the Elde Inn? Mesa asked. "The house sounds nice. Besides, I don't have to pay to mooch at your place." I grinned. He smiled.

"Home it is, then."

**So how is it? Please leave a review. I have decided not to post any further than Chapter 6 if only HunterKR and The Shadow of Nothingness review, because those two are my friends and I wish for my story to be diverse. People complain about having only fifteen people review, I only ask for three different people. Please, ff-ers! Send me some love!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay. I had NO reviews. This story is dying out, I'm running out of ideas. I've written up to about Chapter 19, but if I get no love, then I can't post the story because I have no inspiration.**

**That is all.**

**Chapter 5**

The next morning, I left Kakariko on Wisdom, after eating breakfast with Mesa and his father. The ride across Hyrule Field took the usual forty five minutes, and I arrived back in Ordon at about nine in the morning.

"HALE! Why didn't you come home yesterday?" My mother half yelled, half questioned when I re-entered the village, embracing me in a big protective motherly hug. "Didn't Gaipeia tell you? I was staying in Kakariko." I replied, eager to get my mother off me.

"I know that, but WHY?" she kept going. Immediately my face took on a bored expression, because I was totally pissed off with my over protective mother.

"Because he was nice, and I got the potions cheaper. See? And I managed to get my hands on a blue one." I showed her the potions. "Besides, you're going to have to get used to me not being in the village. I'm going to the academy at the end of the week." I informed her.

"I guess you're right, Hale." She sighed, and turned to go back inside. "Oh, and those pumpkins near the Spinnet's house should be ready to harvest. Could you bring them in for me?" she asked.

"Yes mother." I replied.

After I had brought in the pumpkins, (why do I always do the heavy lifting around here?) I went over to Merllis' house with Gaipeia. Along the way, Gai started to tease me about last night.

"So, you stayed at Kakariko Village with a boy, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, I told you in the letter. What about it?" I replied.

"Oh, nothing much," she sang, looking over her shoulder innocently, "just you stayed in a far away village. With a BOY. In his HOUSE." She finished, an evil, mischievous smirk on her face. I blushed. "It was nothing big, Gai." I tried to deny, but she wouldn't have it.

"Come on, Hale. You know you wouldn't do that for a guy any day. So what's the big deal? Do you _like_ him or something?" she continued. I blushed even more, and my usually pale face turned a beautiful shade of tomato. "No!" I squeaked, but she knew better.

"So you like a guy in Kakariko. No big deal, I won't tell your parents." She assured me. I thanked her, and we reached the Mayor's house. Knocking twice on the door, we let ourselves in.

Merllis looked up from her book upon our arrival. "Oh, Hi, you two." She greeted, placing a bookmark in the sea of pages, and closed the book. She wore a long sleeved tan shirt, with loose black pants that contrasted with her pale bare feet. Her hair was out, reaching just past her shoulders, and her fringe and two small plaits framed her face. "What have you guys been up to?"

"Oh, the usual," Gaipeia informed, "Hale fell in love with a Kakarikan, and I've been herding the goats with AppleSauce. Same as always." I punched Gaipeia for mentioning me and my Kakarikan affairs, and Merllis only gave me the exact same smirk I had received from Gai only one minute ago. "Oh really, Hale? Well, that's nice. Treat him well, and all that." She laughed.

I could only scowl at my two best friends. "Gee, thanks you guys, best friends ever. Excuse me while I go jump off a cliff." The pair of girls giggled, as we girls do.

Merllis then stood from where she had been sitting. "Come upstairs, you two, I want to show you something."

We followed her up the stairs to the bedrooms. After walking through the empty, large part of the room, we got to the small, slightly barricaded off area that had Merllis's bed and bookshelf. We sat on her bed, while she went over to the small table. Picking up two pieces of what looked like string, she brought them over to us. It was then that I noticed what they were

"These are protection necklaces. They lower the damage you take from hurting yourself by ten percent. I know it's not very much, but I hope they come in handy." Our wanna be mage friend explained. She gave one to each of us, and we tied them around our necks. "Gai, the enchanted pendant on yours is the rare shark tooth, and Hale, yours is a moon's tear. Mine," she said, pulling out a string from under her own shirt, "is a miniature crystallised leaf."

"I'm blown away, Mer," I told her, "It's absolutely amazing how you do all this! I mean, the rings, the bracelets to help us with our aim, and now these necklaces!" Gaipeia nodded. "Yeah, I haven't missed a single target since you made us those bracelets." She agreed.

Merllis smiled. "Thanks, guys. They're not that good at the moment, but when I graduate from the academy, I'll make you some even better protective gear!" Gaipeia and I nodded in agreement, and we went back downstairs.

For the rest of the day, we talked to each other, played in the house, and then we went to the Ordon Spring. We all took our shoes off, and dipped our feet in the spring, finding it pleasantly warm, and we ended up playing around there for the rest of the day.

The rest of the week was rather uneventful. We went around our usual jobs, Gaipeia working at the ranch, Merllis reading books and me harvesting pumpkins (grumble) and doing delivery runs. Soon came the end of the week, the day we were to leave for the academy.

The night before we left, I packed a bag with the things I would need. Tunics, leggings, hair ties, a couple of long sleeved undershirts for when it turned cold, pyjamas (a comfortable white dress), my formal blue dress for events, sandals, spare arrows, and some small leather gauntlets. Placing it beside my bed, I went to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up early, but only 6 o'clock today. Pulling on my clothes and slinging my bag, bow and quiver over my back, I set out for the ranch, where I saw Gaipeia already there.

"Mornin' Gai!" I yelled in greeting, and she hollered back a hello. I jogged up to where she was leading Applesauce out of the barn with a large cart attached to her back. It was one of the types that carried people in them, and I guessed that we were going to ride them to the Academy.

Gaipeia explained to me that we were going to go around the entire Hyrule Field, and when we got to each village, they would join the procession, and then we would enter Castle Town through the east entrance, where a stable had been built on the King's request. Numerous pack horses were going to pull the carts, and the other horses would be tied with some rope near their reins onto the back of the cart, so they could keep pace.

Within an hour, all the village adolescents who were going to the academy had assembled. Merllis arrived at the ranch after me, holding two bags. One, I presumed, filled with half her library of books. After Merllis, arrived my big sister Risa, who was two years older than me and was therefore far superior, as she liked to say. The next party, who were the last, was the Hwan family. Their family consisted of their parents, and four kids. The two oldest, Murai and Maadlus, were attending the academy this year, while the two younger ones, Raios and Kit, would stay behind in the village.

Raios, although twelve years old, still acted like a child. He wasn't looking forward to going to the academy next year, his main quote often being, "The only reason I'd want to join the academy is so I could learn to use a sword and whack the bozo who wrote the rules!"

Kit was only 6, and we had been calling her Kitten for her entire life. She was the typical sweet child, who always did what her mother asked and never caused any trouble. She waved to us from her parents arms, and didn't stop waving until we were far out of sight.

We all loaded our belongings onto a cart, and set off for Hyrule Field.

**Please review for me, I wish for love. I'll even accept flames and hatorz.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Once again, no reviews. Please, if you read this, give me a review. I don't even care if it's a flame anymore.**

**Chapter 6**

"Merllis," Gaipeia started.

"Yes?" she asked simply, but you could tell by her tone she wasn't happy we were keeping her from the book, which had been closed with her finger in the pages as a temporary bookmark.

"We were wondering if you had ever tried to be… normal?" I asked. "You know, talking to people, and being… human?"

Merllis raised one eyebrow. "And you guys are asking me? Since when have you been normal or human?"

Gai peeped over my shoulder.

"She's kinda got a point."

We were sitting in the cart that left from Ordon Village not ten minutes ago. Suddenly, the cart went over a bump, and all of us students (and students-to-be) of the academy were bounced out of our makeshift seats. I let out a small squeak, and Murai laughed. He was the same age as my big sister, but although their ages were the same, their personalities were way different. The teen was a delinquent, who had been avoiding going to the academy for two years. His excuses consisted of nonexistent sicknesses and broken bones, and he had avoided professional attempts to retrieve him after skipping classes to return home. His shy-eye black hair fell over his eyes messily, but would make any girl in Castle Town swoon. His black tunic was slightly dirty, his grey sleeves and pants had numerous rips in the fabric, and his charcoal boots were faded. "Still the shortest one here, I see, Hale?" Murai taunted, the smirk of an older brother on his face.

I frowned. "It's not my fault my mother decided to give birth to a midget." It was true. I was only about five feet and four inches tall. All throughout my childhood, I had been jokingly teased about my height by all the village children, save for Raios and Kitten, because they were still shorter than I was.

"In Hale's defence, those two are still shorter than her, but they'll soon overtake her." Maadlus said, only adding salt to the wound. I groaned. "Don't remind me."

It took another half hour to get to Kakariko, where Mesa, Kaj, Reylo and several other Gorons waited. They had another cart with them, a far sturdier one than ours from Ordon, with all their horses already tethered to it. The Gorons piled into the cart, along with Reylo. Mesa and Kaj were about to squeeze in, when I stuck my head out the back of the cart and yelled, "MESA! KAJ!"

The two boys looked up and saw me. Mesa half smiled and came over to our cart, Kaj in tow. "And hello to you too, Hale."

I grinned. "There's room here, if you'd like to travel with us." Kaj's eyes widened. "Would I ever? Those Gorons take up so much space, and while in the cart, they sing One million red potions hanging on the wall, and when they finish, they start ALL OVER AGAIN."

I laughed. "Come on in, then." Maadlus invited. "If you're friends of Hale's, then you're friends of ours."

The pair of boys nodded and clambered in. They settled down on some sacks, and with a jolt, the carts started to move.

"So," Gaipeia began, her green eyes sparkling inquisitively, "How do you know Hale?" Mesa turned to her. "Well, we met when she came on a delivery run to Kakariko last week." He told her.

Slapping my forehead, I realised something. "I've forgotten to introduce you! This is Gaipeia," I began, pointing to my red haired friend. "That's Merllis, that's my big sister Risa, and those two are Murai and Maadlus." I finished, pointing to each person respectively. "You guys, this is Mesa, and this is Kaj." I explained, sending a smile to Gaipeia and Merllis that read, _If you dare mention anything, I will personally skin you alive_. I then sat back, happy with my work. "Now get aquainted."

Maadlus snorted at my antics, running a hand through his short brownish red hair. He wore a tunic much like his older brother's except his was maroon with tan sleeves and pants, and he wore brown boots. It was all relatively clean, because alike Merllis, he loved to read, and stayed inside most days, going out to ride his horse Rojo every once in a while. "You're so weird, Hale. Anyway," Maadlus said, "like she said, I'm Maadlus. And I come in peace." He finished with a smile.

"And you call me weird, Maa." I giggled. Mesa smiled. "What year are you guys in at the academy?"

"Risa and I are in our third year, but I disagree with compulsory schooling, so I haven't attended once." Murai said.

"I'm a first year." Maadlus stated, annoyed with his brother's attitude to schooling.

"First year." Merllis mumbled, more interested in reading her book than anything else.

"I'm a first year!" Gaipeia yelled, punching her fist in the air. Mesa chuckled.

"We're also first years." Kaj told my childhood friends. Maadlus grinned. "Awesome! Guys that are actually my age who aren't from the city, going to the academy! Best plot development ever!"

The two Kakarikan boys looked at Maadlus, the question marks almost visible on their faces. I offered an explanation. "Maadlus likes books almost as much as Merllis does. He prefers to read fiction though, and writes a bit of it himself. He's also a big fan of bombs, so he reads information about explosives, too."

Kaj's eyes widened. "You're kidding! Another pyro? I work at Barnes Bomb Shop! We're going to be the best buddies!" he yelled excitedly.

Maadlus's eyes widened too, making the two of them look like idiots. Kaj moved over to sit with Maadlus, and the two started talking explosives, a language that none of the rest of us understood save for Merllis, whose head was too far buried in her book to care. Mesa and I looked at each other and shrugged, making me giggle.

We travelled past Zora's Domain, picking up several Zora teens on our way. Their cart was added into the procession, and we continued to Hyrule Castle.

The carts stopped at the East gate to Castle Town, where the stable was. It was massive, reaching all the way from the stone block with vines climbing up that was near the door all the way to the end of the fence around the moat. A few horses were already there, taking up only three of the twenty stalls in the stable. Everyone piled out of the carts and stretched their cramped muscles, then leisurely went to either grab their baggage or untie their horses. None of the Zoras or Gorons had horses to get (just for the record, Reylo didn't have one either), so it was only us Hylians who had to bother with the extra work. We led our horses into the stables, taking off all of their tack before feeding them and leaving them to do as they wished. We grabbed our bags, and set off for Hyrule Castle Town.

**Do you get the reference with 'one million red potions on the wall'? I took it from the old annoying song, 10 Green Bottles hanging on the wall. We used to sing it on long car rides back when I was a kid, and the boys on my Year 6 camp sung it, starting all over again when they got to zero. That's where I got the idea for the Gorons, seeing as they are all so jolly.**

**In any case, Toothless will sleep on any flames given. Why Toothless in a Zelda fic? BECAUSE I LOVE HTTYD!**

**Just puttin' it out there.**


	7. Chapter 7

**It's been like three weeks since I last updated. I'm just hoping that this story is going to be one of those ones that people discover very late. Much like my blog. Such is Life has been going for a year and a quarter, and I have a massive grand total of three people reading it. Two of which friends from school, one of which a friend from the internet.**

**Without further ado, here is Chapter 7!**

**Chapter 7**

"Okay, now what?" Gaipeia asked, as we walked through the double door onto the East road of Castle Town. Looking around, I could see many Hylians going about their business in the Town Square, but not many loitered in the East Road.

Maadlus pointed to his left. "We go down that road to get to the hotel. It's just across from Fanabi's Fortune Telling and Agitha's Castle."

Heeding his directions, our party walked past the STAR tent, and down the road to the hotel. His Highness paid for us country kids to stay in a hotel during the semester, but we either paid for our own stay during the holidays or we went home for the month. Many of us chose the latter option, seeing as none of us liked being cooped up in the busy city for long.

As we walked, I could see Murai's eyes flicking between buildings attentively. I assumed he was checking the surrounding area for escape routes. It was then that I realised that Maadlus had grown taller than his older brother, which, needless to say, surprised me. I didn't comment, though, because I knew best of all of us that comments about one's size tend to aggravate one more than other snide remarks.

Finally finding the hotel, we split up into our room groups. Mesa, Kaj and Maadlus grouped together, Murai and my sister grouped together (only because he didn't have any friends and my sister didn't have the heart to let him be alone), and needless to say, I went with Gaipeia and Merllis.

After we had chucked our bags onto our beds, we exited the hotel, meeting in the foyer. The two fifteen year olds left us young ones in search of my sister's friends, but I translated that as "We're older than you, and therefore will not hang around."

The boys pronounced that they were hungry, as men usually are. They trotted off to go find some food on the South road, promising that they would bring something back for us.

"Man, I'm getting hungry. When will those boys be back?" Gaipeia whined, sitting down on the stone path. Merllis laughed. "They're probably going to fight over what food they buy, then buy all of it, become stone broke, and come back with way too much food. Then we will eat as much as we can, and all that perfectly good food will be thrown in the bin." She predicted.

I looked over to her. "Can I quote you on that?" She giggled again.

Suddenly, a young boy about our age, wearing a bright orange shirt with tan pants rushed past being chased by a few loose cuccos. He had brown hair that hung just over his ears, and he wore low, ankle length brown boots with a belt of the same colour strapped around his waist. Two black, tight bracelets adorned his wrist like gauntlets, which looked very much out of place on his thin frame. He screamed as he hell over and crushed two old wooden crates. As he lifted his head and spat out some cucco feathers I squealed in delight.

"LESIN!" I cried as I ran and hugged him. He was a friend of mine from when I did a delivery here. His parents owned a small café, and wanted some bread, milk and pumpkins. He was the thinnest child that could possibly exist without being ill, and because of this he seemed to lack muscles, which was not made up for in wit. He constantly got into trouble, be it cuccos chasing him or being squashed by the heavy crates he was required to carry.

Gaipeia looked at me with her eyebrows squishing together. "Say what now?"

"Gai, Mer, this is my old friend Lesin. Lesin, this is Gaipeia and Merllis." I introduced. "Now get acquainted."

Merllis laughed asking me, "Do you say that to everyone you introduce?" Lesin frowned, and tried to push me off him. "Sheesh, Hale. You're so huggy. Here I am trying to regain what little pride I have left in front of your friends, and you come and hug me. Honestly." He jokingly scolded.

Gaipeia giggled, and after a few seconds of awkward silence, the boys came back. Kaj and Maadlus were animatedly talking, I suspected about explosives, and Mesa came back holding a large paper bag, trying to flick his fringe out of his eyes. When he finally succeeded, he stared at my position kneeling on the ground hugging a foreign boy. He froze for a minute, any joy on his face immediately disappearing. After a few milliseconds, he blinked, and averted his eyes.

The two pyros looked up from their conversation, and saw me hugging the thin frame of Lesin.

"Who's that you're getting so close to, Hale?" Maadlus asked, seemingly unconcerned. Mesa tensed.

"Ah, this is a friend of mine from doing deliveries. His name is Lesin. Lesin, this is Maadlus, Kaj and Mesa. Now get acquainted." I said, making Merllis laugh and nod. "That proves it."

Lesin chuckled, and bit my ear. "And she's mine, so don't come within two metres of us."

"Don't be disgusting, Lesin," I laughed, shoving him off, "We both know that isn't true."

It was then that I noticed the expression on Mesa's face. He scowled so angrily that I swore he was about to make the castle collapse. He shut his eyes, and took a deep breath through his nose.

"I'm going to our room." He announced, shoving the bag into Kaj's chest and storming off into the hotel. Lesin blinked.

"He didn't like that much, did he? Maybe he-" he stopped talking abruptly, a smile spreading across his pale face. "I think you should go tell him it was a joke, Hale."

Heeding Lesin's words, I took off into the building.

**Le gasp! Mesa is jealous?**

**New chapters come out when you review. Even flames. Anything makes me happy.**

**So make me happy.**

**HOLY CRAP MASSIVE EARTH TREMOUR JUST HAPPENED! I could feel it all the way in AUSTRALIA. And we're in the middle of a tectonic plate!**

**See ya guys later!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey peoples of the interwebz!**

**Yep, that's right, I'm posting a new chapter! The shock! The willpower to post came from a lovely reviewer named Guest. Thank you very much for reviewing and for the heads up about Lesin. I based him off one of my best friends who I muck around with like this, yet I've only known him for a year and a half. I guess I just write about the people, not a character. I'll try to do that, but you won't see a change for a while. I've written way further than here in soft copy! Anyway, thanks for the review, by the way, do I know you? If I do, then please tell me who you are. If I don't, you don't have to tell me who you are if you don't want to. But thank you so much for reviewing~**

**So! Without further adieu, let's get on with the chapter!**

**Chapter 8**

I walked as fast as I could to Mesa's room, since running wasn't allowed in the hotel and I didn't want to start the semester on a bad note. Finally reaching the door on the second floor, I gripped the handle.

It was then that I got completely nervous. _Will he get mad at me, and kick me out? Will he ignore me?_ These thoughts ran through my mind, but with a shake of my head, I dismissed them. With a small creak, I opened the door so it was slightly ajar. Peering through it, I saw Mesa lying sprawled out over a bed, facing the ceiling. This calmed me somewhat, and I entered the room.

"It was only a joke, Mesa. Lesin was just messing around." I told the blonde. Seeing no reaction, I moved closer to where he lay. "He's just a friend, nothing more."

Mesa rolled over to make his back face me, mumbling something incomprehensible. "Pardon?" I asked.

"I get it! I understand!" he shouted. I let out a small squeak, and took a step back. "But… why?" he asked.

Not understanding, I walked around the bed to have a look at his face. I saw him staring at the palm of his hand.

"What did you mean by 'why?'" I asked. His eyes flicked to me, and he promptly rolled over to make his back face me. "I don't know, okay? That's why I said 'why.'"

I sat down on the bed, sinking into the soft mattress. "You can tell me, Mesa. It's okay." I reassured.

"Please don't look at me, Hale." He whispered. I froze, and it felt like my heart stopped beating.

"Okay." I replied, walking out of the room.

"How did it go, Ha- oh." Kaj began, but cut himself off when he saw the downcast expression on my face. "He told me not to look at him." I told them.

There was an awkward silence, during which Kaj, Maadlus and Lesin looked at each other, and Merllis and Gaipeia smiled knowingly. I, the only one who didn't know what was going on, sighed, and turned around. "I'm going to go see Wisdom. See you guys at dinner."

Entering the stable, I walked to the stall in which I had left my mare.

"Hey girl," I greeted, as I pressed my face against her muzzle, half-hugging her head. Unlocking the stall, I led her out, tacked her up, and swung myself onto the saddle. "We're going for a long ride into the who knows what, Wisdom. Get ready." I told her, guiding her into a walk.

Leaving the stable, I took off into Hyrule Field. We had sped up by this time and were galloping through the field. I didn't want to get too far away from the castle despite my frustration, so we headed north, me saying a quick prayer to the goddesses that we didn't get lost. The feeling of the wind against my body was fantastic. It felt as if it blew all my worries away, and I continued to ride until I reached a river. That was when I realised I may have gone a bit too far, so I turned Wisdom around, and we set off for the castle again.

When we finally reached the castle, I noticed the sun had almost set, sending a cold orange glow over Hyrule. Rubbing my arms in a vain attempt to warm them, I led my horse back into her stable, handing her a carrot and mumbling a quick thanks. I then jogged out of the stable, across the bridge, and into Castle Town once more.

Upon my entry, I discovered that I was just in time for dinner to be served at the hotel. I took a seat between Gaipeia and Merllis and promptly dug into the food that had been served. During a mouthful of vegetables I didn't even know the name of, I realised that Mesa was sitting right across from me. He was talking to Kaj like nothing had happened earlier that day, which surprised me greatly. Leaning over to Merllis, I whispered, "What's going on there?"

"While you were gone," my genius friend explained, "Mesa and Lesin made up and became buddies. But if you look closely, Mesa isn't acting quite as happily as he was earlier today." She noted.

Looking at the aforementioned boy, I realised that he wasn't as animated as he was on the cart today. I looked over at Merllis incredulously. "I can't believe you noticed that! You've only known him for a couple of hours!" I praised.

She smiled, and returned to her vegetables, leading me to do the same.

Gaipeia then began talking incoherently with her mouth full. Seeing the half chewed food in my friend's mouth, I looked away, nearly gagging. I held my hand up to her face and said, "Swallow."

She heeded my instruction, and after chewing and swallowing, she spoke. "You know, Merllis was right today about the food. We ate as much as we could, and then the leftovers were thrown into the bin."

I looked over at Merllis approvingly. "That girl never fails, does she?"

Gaipeia and I stumbled into our room, Merllis following behind. "Oh man," I moaned, flopping onto my bed. "I _so_ shouldn't have drunk all that purple chu jelly. I feel like I'm going to be sick!"

We had been up late drinking purple chu jelly, against warning from Maadlus and Merllis. We all knew that the first day of academy was tomorrow, yet we drunk out our worries with the purple drink, especially Mesa and I. Unfortunately, I only got one healing drink, having already drunk three bad ones. Mesa only got bad jellies, which resulted in him having to lean on Maadlus' shoulder as him and Kaj stumbled back to their room. I realised that we would all have a hard time getting up in the morning, even though it was only 10 o'clock.

Closing my eyes, I fell completely asleep, not worrying about changing or putting on blankets. I guess my mind had decided to fall asleep, and let tomorrow come on its own.

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